Disney at night

[Kamikaze]

Sorry avid runners and bicycle riders but UGH.....WHY????? It's a theme park!!!!! I know why, but whatever.....

To be honest, I don't care about the rest of your post, its just noise, so I cut it out.

Why? Tons of reasons. Why do the world marathon majors get tens of thousands of runners? Because its a unique shared experience in places that you may not be otherwise able to run. Races can be competitive and exhilarating as well as celebrations of the work you've done to train to that point to the completion of that race. Disney races bring the extra element of special character meet and greets along the way, along with the opportunity to sometimes even ride some attractions during the race. Its really not that different than having a special 'villain's' night or other hard ticket event. Something different for those that enjoy it.

Go have fun at Uni.

 

[Texas84]

Know nothing about it. Sounds counter productive to park visitors though. We're arriving Sat 5th, so for parks our first day is Sunday Nov 6 (epcot at moment)

Sunday is the last race. Road closings will be posted here later.

https://www.rundisney.com/events/disneyworld/wine-and-dine-half-marathon-weekend/

Might be some traffic very early. Last year's course started at TTC, went to AK, DHS, then ended at Epcot. If you're offsite maybe sleep in a bit. If onsite, just give yourself more time on WDW transportation.

 

[Texas84]

Sorry avid runners and bicycle riders but UGH.....WHY????? It's a theme park!!!!! I know why, but whatever.....

So that's a no for me......It's hard to tell from the event details but looks like the race ("Wine and Dine half Marathon") from a past map I found online went through 3 of the 4 Disney parks.

I'm not starting the vacation at MK, we want to save that for mid week. I am either way over thinking this and should just leave it alone, or I could start off at US IoA but risk making Disney a let down after US. Or I could swap HS/AK and move Epcot to Mon or Wed to avoid dealing with the "After party" at Epcot..... which means bigger crowds plus traffic and could be earlier park closure for reg guests..... hmmmmm....

Current reservations:

Sun Nov 6: Epcot (might swap with either HS or AK and could move Epcot to Monday, or better yet Wed, and US IoA to Mon)
Mon Nov 7: HS
Tue Nov 8: OFF day
Wed Nov9: US IoA
Thurs Nov 10: MK
Fri Nov 11: OFF day
Sat Nov 12: AK

Maybe wait until about 1000 for Epcot Sunday. Everything will be cleared. Park crowds are not that bad after the race weekend. The week before is much worse. BTW, you don't have to be a runner to go to the after party. Just buy a ticket online.

And, running through AK and Pandora before sunrise is awesome!

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Texas84, Thanks for the tip on the race. I would have had no idea.

I posted in the runners section here, and most believe the course will mirror last years and years prior:

MK Parking lot->AK->HS->EP and finish in the lot. After party at EP.

I've elected to visit AK Sunday, and by 9 with some luck the runners will be well past that area or shortly thereafter. Epcot will have to wait til the following Saturday.

 

[Djsfantasi]

I accidentally went during the Disney Marathon in January. January was my favorite month because park crowds WERE lighter (not anymore). But during the marathon, the parks were crowded in the afternoon. And in the morning, Disney buses were delayed and or re-routed. To get to MK, the buses were routed to TTC. Then, you wait for the ferry or monorail. Took forever to get to the park.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I think Pandora was built for nighttime!

It’s awesome really. The sounds, the sights - you’ll love it

Would love to see it dark. Alas on our recent trip even at 8pm it was pretty bright out still.

 

[Djsfantasi]

Would love to see it dark. Alas on our recent trip even at 8pm it was pretty bright out still.

It’s incredible

 

[Nottamus]

We do mostly fall trips right after the time change

Back before covid, there were sweet longer hours that nobody seemed to care about

The park was pretty empty

Pandora looks great but so does:
Tree of life projections
Asia area near bird show
Africa area is amazing
Just about everywhere

Hopefully they extend hours again….

 

[CntrlFlPete]

Florida's Sunshine Protection Act did pass (but I think it is held up needing Federal approval) Basically, FL wants to outlaw Standard Time and lock us into Daylight Savings Time.

I do not think it will happen, but there is a change that the clocks won't go back to 'normal'.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

The politicians in both parties and many citizens have latched onto the clock change as if it's some crisis we must fix. Personally I don't mind changing the clocks twice a year but many others strongly disagree. If they do alter it I actually hope they stick with DST. Disney at night notwithstanding I prefer more sunlight especially in summer.

Also FL is unlikely to change unless tne rest of the eastern seaboard and time zone align on the changes as well.

 

[Texas84]

Texas84, Thanks for the tip on the race. I would have had no idea.

I posted in the runners section here, and most believe the course will mirror last years and years prior:

MK Parking lot->AK->HS->EP and finish in the lot. After party at EP.

I've elected to visit AK Sunday, and by 9 with some luck the runners will be well past that area or shortly thereafter. Epcot will have to wait til the following Saturday.

Races start at 0500 so AK should be clear. But definitely look for the road closings on runDisney.com.